Amazon Seller Central is designed to help brands and merchants efficiently manage all parts of their Amazon business. However, trying to communicate with Amazon Seller Central can be frustrating for merchants who feel they are constantly being misunderstood.

In previous articles, we've covered ways to deal with different failures in Amazon's inventory system – some of which require opening a case and sending a written message asking for an investigation, reimbursement, or other types of help. Here, we outline the process to help merchants better manage their activity in Seller Central for the best results.

To open a case, merchants need to log into their Amazon seller account and click "Help" in the upper right corner of the screen .

A box will pop up where you can click "Contact Us" at the bottom .

Next, you'll see a question: "What can we do for you?" You'll need to click on "Sell on Amazon," which will bring up a list of options for the type of question you're having.

You can then browse the list of topics to find the one that best fits the problem you need help with.

There are five things merchants need to keep in mind when communicating with a Seller Central representative via the Contact Us button. Here they come.

1. Have the right information ready before communicating with Amazon

To communicate with Amazon Seller Central, you'll need to provide basic information about the specific issue they're having, so it's helpful to have this information handy before opening a case. For example, if you have a shipment issue, be sure to know the shipment number. Be sure to have an ASIN or UPC ready if it's a product-specific issue . Any additional details (including screenshots) that can be provided will help the representative assisting the case.

2. Always start with email

Merchants can choose to have a representative respond to them via email or phone. We recommend that you always send an email detailing your question and requesting an email response. It is best to have a written record of what happened in each case. While a paper record may not be needed in the future, the best thing to do is to have it just in case.

Sometimes a representative will call even if the merchant asks to send an email. They may also call to inform the merchant that they have been emailed (perhaps a bit of an overkill?). Therefore, merchants are advised to save their Seller Central phone number in their phone's contacts so they always know Amazon is online the next time they call.

3. Be polite

Your mom was right: Politeness matters in this world. So be polite! It's always beneficial for a solution-oriented merchant to be polite to a Seller Central representative, even when answering a third or fourth response in a case. Make sure to thank them for their time and always use the magic word "please".

4. Use "magic words" when communicating with Amazon

In addition to the word "please," Seller Central reps responded well to several other "magic words." Amazon Corporate Training emphasizes core concepts that each merchant can equally emphasize to help Seller Central representatives better understand their requirements:

Customer Experience

As we all know, Amazon wants to be the most customer-centric marketplace on the planet. Their goal is to give customers a great shopping experience on their website and make them loyal buyers in the future. Seller Central representatives are trained to put customer experience above other issues, including requests from merchants themselves as third-party sellers. If you can find a way to tell reps how your issue affects the customer experience, you're more likely to get a positive response.

Here's an example of writing the same request two different ways, one with magic words and one without:

Not very effective: Please help me change the title of this product to get more sales. The current title is wrong and I can't get my product on the first search page.

More Effective: The product's current title is impacting the customer experience because customers can't easily find it in search with the correct title. Please change the product name to improve customer experience.

Can you notice the difference in validity of each sentence?

Take ownership: Amazon trains their reps to take responsibility for problems and find the best solutions. In a situation where a merchant has a problem and gets a resolution from a representative, the best course of action is for the merchant to gently remind the representative to take responsibility for the problem.

Example: Thanks for continuing to help me. We've been working on this problem for over a week now and we still haven't fixed it. Please take responsibility for this issue and help me investigate the best solution.

5. Perseverance

Unfortunately, when merchants try to communicate with Amazon Seller Central, it does happen that they cannot get a satisfactory answer. If the answer received in the first reply is incorrect or doesn't fully resolve the issue, it's best to politely stick with it and reopen the case. This might be a good time to use the phrase "take ownership" — or try another magic word: upgrade.

Example: Thanks for continuing to help me on this issue. The amount of reimbursement I received was unfair. Please refer to the numbers I provide below. If you are unable to help me get the correct reimbursement, please escalate the case to your supervisor. I appreciate your help!

Additional Tips for Communicating with Amazon

These three extra tips are provided by our friends at Skubana. The goal is to get higher quality support.

Call Amazon Seller Support, ask the dedicated FBA team, or request a chat with an FBA Captive Associate. This can help with potential language barriers (as Captives is based in the US or Costa Rica) and will ensure that the agent has a high level of expertise and knowledge. Captives are trained to handle the most challenging issues Amazon sellers face.

Use the TAX Questions section when contacting Amazon Support. This signals to those responsible for support that the problem is urgent and immediate help is required. It also helps ensure that issues are resolved by an experienced agent.

Be aware of the jet lag when calling Amazon. India Standard Time is 9 hours 30 minutes ahead of Eastern Time . Therefore, calling at 5:51 PM EST / 3:21 AM IST will guarantee a US or South American agent.

final thoughts

We hope the tips shared in this blog post helped you better communicate with Amazon Seller Central. Maintaining high standards of behavior as an Amazon seller is critical, and that means remembering that there is a person on the other end of the emails we send to Amazon. Communication can be difficult in any situation – especially when complex issues need to be resolved – but there are ways to optimize communication to produce better results when opening a case in Seller Central.